League Play-Off

Stadion Kurgan
Spectators: 35 (Terracing: 27, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) It was fairly windy and cold on the field when Aleksandr Utkin kicked off to start the match. In the 7thth minute of the game Konstantin Berestov who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but Kurgan's Vadim Elzhov was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. In the 13th minute Aleksandr Utkin shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Vadim Elzhov saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Vadim Elzhov didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Aleksandr Utkin went, in the 13th minute, to the upper right corner, 0-1 was the resulting score. After some careless play in the Kurgan defense, Aleksandr Utkin kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Vadim Elzhov. The Kurgan fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Vadim Elzhov should have stopped the shot. Konstantin Berestov fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 20th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Vadim Elzhov having to interfere. Vadim Elzhov showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Konstantin Berestov in the 22nd minute of the match. Vadim Elzhov took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Aleksandr Utkin, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. A collision led to Velikiy Novgorod FC getting a freekick after 29 minutes play. Paramon Zhuravlev hit a great ball. 30 minutes into the match, Kurgan's Aleksandr Danilov broke free and took a long shot that unfortunately flew wide. A fine initiative that could have resulted in a goal. Konstantin Berestov fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 33rd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Vadim Elzhov having to interfere. Konstantin Berestov fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 36th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Vadim Elzhov having to interfere. After a rather tough play, Velikiy Novgorod FC's Mikhail Kidyaev got a free kick in the 40th minute. In the 42nd match minute, Kurgan was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Oleg Dytynchuk to maneuver through the defense. Disappointed in the 0-2 score, the home team went to the dressing room to adjust tactics for the second half.

An unexpectedly hard shot by Rustam Galich in the 53rd minute of play forced Velikiy Novgorod FC's goalkeeper Emmanuil Peskovets to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. When Konstantin Berestov came up free with the goalie in the 58th minute, the Velikiy Novgorod FC fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Konstantin Berestov couldn't finish the play. In the 63rd minute of the match, Aleksandr Utkin tried to roll the ball into the goal by the right post, but Vadim Elzhov saw his intentions and got control of the ball before it passed the line. Aleksandr Utkin recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 65th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. Emmanuil Peskovets made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Ernest Pilipenko in the 72nd minute of play. In the 75th minute, Velikiy Novgorod FC's Aleksandr Utkin dribbled the ball into the box and hit a shot with the outside of his foot, sending the keeper the wrong way. 0-3. Vadim Elzhov made a fantastic save in the 82nd minute, when Konstantin Berestov sent off a good shot on target. Arkadiy Ershov charged in rather forcefully in the 83rd minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Arkadiy Ershov the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. Arkadiy Ershov kicked well hit freekick during the 84th minute of the match. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Marat Kalmykov during the 90th minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. After 89 minutes of play, the referee blew the whistle. It was a penalty for Kurgan! The goalkeeper, Vadim Elzhov, was totally fooled by Velikiy Novgorod FC's Mikhail Kidyaev, who 91 minutes into the game made a penalty shot that went in on the goalkeeper's left side. 95 minutes into the match, Velikiy Novgorod FC's goal looked a bit too open when Ernest Pilipenko came free, but Emmanuil Peskovets reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. A collision led to Velikiy Novgorod FC getting a freekick after 96 minutes play. Arkadiy Ershov hit a great ball. Velikiy Novgorod FC played a much better game than Kurgan and deserved their victory. The Kurgan players were clearly disappointed as they left the ground.